Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1887-05-21

dark 0ee1 OF Dloou IN WHICH ne ndu Dten tio
principal actor, he positively loathed the sight
of him. He got out of the cart, and was go
ing to walk round to the back of the house in
order to avoid him, when Muller, to all ap-
pearance, suddenly became aware of his pres
ence and advanced to meet him with the ut
most cordiality.
"How do you do, captain?' he said, holding
out his hand, which John just touched. $50
you have come TO shoot buck with ON Coet-
zee; going to show us Transvaalers how to do
it, Ell? There, captain, don't look as stiff as
rifle barrel know what you are thinking
of; that little business at Wakkerstroom on
Friday, is it not? Well, now, tell you what
it is, | was in the wrong, and amt afraid to
say so as between man and man. had had
glass, that was the fact, and did not quite
know what Twas about. We have got live
as neighbors here, so let us forget all about it
and be brothers again. never bear malice,
not l. 1t is not the Lords will that we should
bear malice Hit out from the shoulder,
| say, and then forget all about it. If it hadn't
been for that little monkey" he added, jerk
ing his thumb in the direction of Jantje, who
was holding the horses heads, sit would never
| haveaappened, and it is not nice that two
Christians should quarrel about such as he"
Muller jerked out his long speech in a sue
cession of sentences, something as a school
| boy repeats hardly learned lesson, fidgeting
| his feet and letting his eyes travel about the
| ground he did 50; and it was evident to
John, who stood quite still and listened to it
in icy silence, that it was by no means an ex
temporary one. 1t had too clearly been com
posed for the occasion.
81 do not wish to quarrel with anybody,
| Meinheer Muller" he answered at length.
| II never do quarrel unless it is forced on me,
and them" he added, grimly, 81 do my best
to make it unpleasant for my enemy. The
other day YOU attacked first my servant and
then myself. I am glad that you now see
| that this was an improper thing to do, and,
so far as am concerned, there is an end of
the matter" and he turned to enter the
| house.
| Muller accompanied him as far as where
Jamie was standing at the horses heads. Here
he stopped, and, putting his hand in his
pocket, took out a two shilling piece and threw
it to the Hottentot, calling to him to catch it.
JantJe was holding the horses with one
hand In the other he held his stick-a long
walking kerrie that he always carried, the
| same on which he had shown Bessie the
notches. In order to catch the piece of money
he dropped the stick. and Muller's quick eye
catching sight of the notches beneath the
knob, he stopped down, picked it up, and
examined it.
What do these mean, boys" he asked
| pointing to the line of big and little notches
| some of which had evidently been cut years
ago.
Jantje touched his hat, spat upon the
"Scotchman," as the natives of that part OF
Africa call two shilling piece, and pocketed
it before he answered. The fact that the
| giver had murdered all his near relations did
not make the gift less desirable in his eyes
Hottentot moral sense is not very elevated.
"No, baas, he said, with curious grin
that is how I reckon. If anybody heat,
Jantje, Jantje cuts notch upon the stick
and every night before he goes to sleep he
looks at it, and says: One day you vii
strike that man twice who struck you once
and 50 on, baas. Look what line of then
there are, baas One day I will pay them al
back again, Baas Frank"
In another minute old Hans Coetzee came
'and announced that it was time to be moving
Accordingly the whole party got into theii
carts or on to their shooting horses, as tn,
case might be, and started Frank Muller
was John noticed, mounted as usual on BIZ
fine black horse. After driving for NOR
than half an hour along an indefinite kind O
wagon track, the leading cart, in which wa
old Hans Coetzee himself, Malay drive
and a colored Cape boy, turned to the lief
across the open veldt, and the others followet
in turn. This went on for some time, till a
last they reached the crest of rise that com
manded a large sweep of open country anC
here Hans halted and held up his hand
wherein the others halted, too. On lookin.
out over the vast plain before him, John dis
covered the reason. About half a mile be
meath them was great herd of blesbuck
feeding, 30b or more of them, and beyon,
them again another herd of some sixty o
seventy much larger and wilder looking AMI
mails, with white tails which John at ono
recognized as vilderbeeste Nearer to Their
again, dotted about here and there on th
full yellow springbuck.
Then a council of war was held which re
suited in the men on horsehack-amon
whom was Frank Muller-being dispatche
to circumvent the herds and drive Their
toward the carts, that took up their station
at various points toward which the buck wer
likely to make
Then came a pause of quarter of an hou
or so, till, suddenly, from the far ridge Of tn
opposite slope, John saw a couple of puffs c
white smoke Loaf up into the air, and one {
the vildeTbeeste below roll over on his bacl
t kicking and pluneing furiously. Thereon Ii
whole herd of buck turned and came thunder
/ ing toward them, stretched in long lin
across the WIDE veldt; the springbuck frs
. then the blesbuck, looking, owing to the
peculiar way Of holding their long heaf
) down as they galloped, for all the world lib
/ a herd of great bearded goats. Behind an
mixed up with them were the vilderbeest.
l who twisted and turned and jumped into ii
air as though they had gone clean off the
> heads and were next second going clean o
them 1t Is very difficult, owing to his e1
traordinary method of progression. to di
, tinguIsh one part of a galloping vilderbeesi
5 from another; now it Is his horns, now b
tail, and now his hoofs that present then
selves to the watchers bewildered vision, an
now again they all seem to be mixed up t.
gether. On came the great herd, making Il
I ground shake beneath their football: all
2 after them galloped the mounted Beers, ever
, now and again jumping from their horses
f fire shot into the line of game, which gel
/ orally resulted in some poor animal being LEI
t sprawling on the ground, wherein the sport
t men would remount and continue the chas
t Presently the buck were within range
Q some of the guns i'll the carts and a reguli
fusIllade began. About twenty blesbuc
turned and came past John, within fort
, yards of HIM Springing to the ground, |
t fired both barrels of his express" at them
D they tore past-alas and alas without toucl
q ing them. The first bullet struck under the
bellies, the second must have shaved the
5 backs. Reloadlng rapidly, he fired again
about 200 yards range. and this time OIL
b fell to his second barrel. But he knew thu
{ it was a chance shot; he had fired at the la
e buck, and he had killed one ten PAGES in frol
of him. The fact of the matter is that tn
sort of shooting is exceedingly difficult till Oh
e knows how to do it,
Jumping into the cart again, aud leavir
the dead blesbuck TO look after itself for Il